Free Republic

F.B.I. agents on Wednesday searched the business office of a powerful Democratic state legislator in Virginia who had played a key role in a high-stakes congressional redistricting fight. The legislator, L. Louise Lucas of Portsmouth, is a senior leader in the State Senate, where she has served for more than 30 years. Two people familiar with the case said the search was related to an investigation opened during the Biden administration that has continued, examining possible corruption and bribery related to marijuana dispensary businesses. The F.B.I. agents executed a search warrant at an office in Portsmouth, Va., for businesses that...

On Wednesday, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents were seen carrying boxes out of the offices of Democratic Virginia state Sen. Louise Lucas, a powerful ally of Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D). A SWAT team also raided a cannabis dispensary located next to the Lucas offices in Portsmouth, according to a Fox News report. Lucas is known for owning several dispensary businesses and had previously been accused of selling illegal marijuana products. The FBI confirmed 10 locations were being served with court-authorized criminal warrants. The federal investigation appears to be related to alleged illegal marijuana sales as well as alleged political corruption....

Federal agents on Wednesday morning raided the Portsmouth office of state Sen. Louise Lucas, one of Virginia’s most powerful Democratic lawmakers, a representative of the Federal Bureau of Investigations confirmed Wednesday, after multiple news outlets reported an extensive law enforcement operation that included FBI agents, SWAT teams and court-authorized searches tied to several locations across the commonwealth. FBI spokeswoman Cassandra Temple told The Mercury at the scene: “We are conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity today.” She wouldn’t confirm or answer any other questions, including whether anyone had been arrested. ..... Adjacent to Lucas’ office is The Cannabis Outlet, a hemp-...

A top Virginia Democrat's office is being raided by the FBI on Wednesday morning. The federal agency raided the office of Virginia Senate President Pro Tempore L Louise Lucas in Portsmouth, Virginia on Wednesday per Fox News. Fox also reported that this action was in relation to a 'major corruption probe,' adding that the 'FBI is serving multiple search warrants, approved by a federal judge, at her office and a next-door cannabis dispensary.' Lucas was captured arriving on the scene as the FBI searched her office, per a live broadcast from the event. Lucas told reporters on the scene that...

A Democratic state senator, elected school board member, multiple representatives of the NAACP, and a passel of taxpayer-supported public defenders have been charged with felonies for tearing down a Confederate statue and nearly killing a man. You’ll remember the June 10th incident, which was widely mocked for being a play-stupid-games, win-stupid-prizes moment, when those pulling down the statue didn’t bother to see who was standing in its path. Any levity over it, however, instantly vanished when the man suffered severe brain damage from the incident. That horrific sight triggered an investigation, resulting in the felony charges Portsmouth, Virginia Police Chief Angela...

If we’re going to make America great again, we have to know what made it great in the first place. That’s why the Left went into a frenzy of vandalism in tearing down statues earlier this summer, not just of Confederates but of those notable slaveowners Lincoln, Grant, and Frederick Douglass. To repudiate American history is to repudiate America itself. In response, lovers of freedom have deplored the destruction and denounce the barbarians, but few are mounting a robust and informed response to their hatred of American history itself. Yet if there is anything that this orgy of destruction should...

[snip] Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, was charged with conspiracy to commit a felony and injury to a monument in excess of $1,000. She was one of seven people charged, which included NAACP leaders. Monday's charges came one day before the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates convened in a special session to address COVID-19-related budget issues, criminal justice reform and other legislative priorities. Democrats have a 21-19 majority in the Senate, but if Lucas is absent, Democrats only can have one dissenter if they want to pass some of the more controversial pieces of legislation. The tie...

A Virginia state senator and several NAACP officials were slapped with two felony charges over their alleged roles in the destruction of a Confederate statue by a mob in Portsmouth, Virginia. A protester received life-altering injuries in that incident when a statue fell on his head. "As the result of our efforts in this matter, we have identified and secured arrest warrants of numerous individuals who conspired, organized, and participated in the felonious acts on June 10th. This investigation yielded the same results of holding individuals who commit crimes in our city accountable but was done in a safe manner...

After first admitting and apologizing for appearing in a racist photo in his 1984 medical school yearbook, Gov. Ralph Northam has been calling Democratic leaders saying he isn't one of the two men in the image. Virginia Sen. Louise Lucas who represents Portsmouth said Northam called her this morning and said he wouldn’t step down. “I’m not going to resign because it’s not me in that photo,” Lucas said, recalling what he told her.

Turns out the New York Times is worried about the future of the Republican Party. So concerned, in fact, it has dedicated more than 6,000 words in this week’s magazine to explore, as the title puts it, “Can The Republicans Be Saved From Obsolescence?” Indeed, the folks at The Times seem extremely concerned that which they hate might not survive. And by “concerned” I mean they’re hoping. That The Times would seek to harm Republicans, and more specifically conservatives, is about as shocking as Piers Morgan doing a special episode on the need for gun control. But that so...

Political pundits often refer to the time we’re in now – a few weeks out from an election – as the “silly season.” It’s a time for obsessing over gaffes real and perceived, faux outrage over harmless statements and a general sense of desperation on the part of one candidate or perhaps both. This cycle’s silly season started early, which is to be expected when the challenging party picks its nominee early and the incumbent party has no record of success to promote. But that early start means we sometimes run out of “silly” early and head straight to desperate...

NORFOLK, Va (WAVY.com)--It was supposed to be a news conference by supporters for Democratic Senator Barack Obama. They wanted to blast Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain's plan to give a brief 'gas tax' holiday. When State Senator Louise Lucas showed up in a gas guzzling Hummer to blast McCain for his stand on the oil crisis, the story changed. Lucas said, "While Virginia's families are confronting the reality of gas, the oil companies continue to record record profits." That, from an elected official who showed up in a vehicle that gets some of the lowest gas mileage per gallon. WAVY.com...